How founders can navigate the challenges of stepping back October 11, 2016 Entrepreneurs are control freaks; that’s what makes them successful. Their business wouldn’t exist without their vision and determination to create it. But though a business demands this drive at the outset, as it grows this can become a limiting factor. To continue to thrive, the founders sometimes need to let go – either with a [...]
How The Clean Space’s Charlie Mowat controlled his inner control freak October 11, 2016 "I’m Charlie Mowat and I’m a control freak.” Those opening words launched a recent Leap 100 roundtable. But the founder of The Clean Space wasn’t alone. The room was full of entrepreneurs; each of whom struggle with the same problem. Success – while preferable to the alternative – brings its own challenges. After Oxford University and [...]
PPF releases deficit figures for September, buoyed by bond yields heading back north October 11, 2016 Aggregate deficits faced by the government's pension lifeboat edged down in September, finally levelling off after a summer that has seen an astronomic rise in shortfalls. The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which employers pay into via a levy and effectively underwrites the defined benefit pension liabilities of Britain's companies, said that its aggregate deficit stood at £420bn at the end of [...]
Official statisticians reveal what Britons think will make them the most money for later years October 11, 2016 Britons think the best way to save for retirement is to invest in property rather than a pension scheme, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Although respondents to the ONS survey admitted that an employer pension scheme was a safer way to save, nearly half felt that investing in bricks and mortar was best way to [...]
The Pensions Regulator is seeking more power to stop another BHS-style pensions crisis October 11, 2016 The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is seeking more powers to prevent another pensions crisis on the scale of BHS'. In evidence given to the Work and Pensions select committee, TPR has called for a mandatory clearance process for some corporate transactions, such as a company being sold when its pension scheme is underfunded, as was the [...]
How your business can produce the next Ada Lovelace October 11, 2016 Ever wondered why you struggle to hire women? This is a question often thrown in our direction at GeekGirl Meetup UK. It’s still not good enough that, according to Deloitte, women make up 18 per cent of the UK’s tech industry. There are numerous reasons why you may struggle to hire women in tech and why [...]
Bob Diamond takes interim chairman role at Africa-focused banking firm Atlas Mara October 11, 2016 Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond has been appointed interim chairman of African banking firm Atlas Mara. He will step in to the role when current chairman Arnold Ekpe stands down on 1 December. "It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of Atlas Mara," Ekpe said. "What the team has achieved in establishing and [...]
Q&A with Andrew Kerr: how you can help shape Edinburgh’s future October 11, 2016 | City Talk Edinburgh’s residents, businesses and partners are being invited to help shape the capital’s future under the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision project. We spoke to City of Edinburgh Council chief executive Andrew Kerr to discover more. What is the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision? Edinburgh has always been known as a city of innovation and change. The last 30 [...]
Is the tumbling pound providing a correction, or are we losers now? October 11, 2016 A strong currency can be a sign of a country’s economic success. When a currency rises against another, those earning income in it have greater spending power. Equally, a weaker currency is considered by some to be a source of national embarrassment. Last week’s sterling crash was rather embarrassing for Britain – the pound fell 4.2 [...]
FCA commits to having 50/50 gender split in its senior leadership team by 2025 October 11, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled a new set of diversity targets as part of an effort to show its commitment to inclusion. The City watchdog published targets for the Women in Finance Charter, which it signed in June 2016 and announced its Black, Asian, minority ethnic (BAME) targets for 2020 and 2025. Read [...]
